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Unemployment Drops Despite Fewer Hoosiers Working

Last updated on Tuesday, October 21, 2008

(UNDATED) - Detailed unemployment numbers are out, and the picture isn’t as rosy as it first seemed.

For the month of September, unemployment in Indiana dropped from 6.4% to 6.2%, however, things are different than they sound. The drop would make it seem like Indiana has created jobs, however, statewide, there are 333 fewer Hoosiers working.

The reason the number dropped is because more than 17,000 Hoosiers have been removed from the "Labor Force" number, either because they have exhausted their unemployment benefits or for a number of other reasons including relocation.

Here in Lawrence County, it's the same picture. 213 fewer Hoosiers in Lawrence County are working, our labor force dropped by 409, and our unemployment rate dropped from 9.2% to 8.5%, 3 points higher than this time last year, but good enough to drop us from 4th to 5th place in worst unemployment.

Our neighbors to the north, Monroe County, however, is doing rather well, ranking 87 out of 92 for worst unemployment, with a rate of 4.2%.

The map of county-by-county unemployment, however, shows that the economic crisis Michigan and Ohio are in may be spreading to Indiana. The worst unemployment numbers in the state are almost all in the Ohio and Michigan borders, getting especially concentrated in the northeast corner of the state.

Of the 10 Michigan border counties, 9 of them have unemployment rates above the national average.

Closer to home, Lawrence County and areas south and east are another problem area, as well as Terre Haute and her collar counties.

Surrounding counties unemployment rates are as follows:

County

Unemployment Rate

Rank in State (Worst to Best)

Lawrence

8.5%

5/92

Washington

6.3%

31/92

Orange

5.9%

42/92

Jackson

5.3%

64/92

Greene

5.2%

67/92

Martin

4.9%

71/92

Brown

4.8%

72/92

Monroe

4.2%

87/92

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